Always on the lookout for unusual accommodations, the American company Airbnb has launched a ten million dollar fund to finance 100 incredible ideas that will join the Wow accommodation category!
consulted more than 2.5 million times since its creation in May 2022. An international call for projects has therefore been launched.
Among tens of thousands of responses, Anne Thai and Romain Briaux, a couple of Parisian designers, are the only French people to win the sum of 100,000 dollars.
They must now build a unique cottage in their new property in Nullemont (Seine-Maritime), a village of 138 inhabitants.
The couple now has ten months to realize their idea: on the site of an outbuilding, build a 90m2 gîte with four beds, a fitted kitchen, a common room, a jacuzzi on a terrace and a stainless steel slide.
DR
It was primarily for a need for calm that Parisians wanted to invest in a property: “We like the dynamism of Parisian life, but to start a family, we wanted an authentic place.
We didn't have a specific location.
With a compass, we made a circle of 200 km around the capital.
We then visited properties in Sologne, in the Perche, then in Normandy.
In April, we fell in love with this old farmhouse made up of a farmhouse and three outbuildings, near the sea and unoccupied for fifteen years.
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“We have submitted the building permit and we are awaiting the response”
Anne Thai and Romain Briaux
Then, Anne discovered the Airbnb competition “which made it possible to push further the reflection on the renovation of the whole, between old house on the outside and design on the inside.
For the outbuildings, we had planned to renovate them within three to four years to transform them into workshops.
"After going through the multiple stages - answering the questionnaire, submitting the file on 3D views, one-minute video, planning and estimate -, Romain and Anne win the call for projects among 200 finalists and are the only French people: " I felt that we had our chance, ”laughs the young woman.
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In the terms of the competition, they now have ten months to materialize their idea: "On the site of an outbuilding, build a 90m2 gite with four beds, a fitted kitchen, a common room, a jacuzzi on a terrace and a slide in stainless steel.
We opted for a compromise between the traditional, the modern, a fun touch and a childish side for a cottage where we would have liked to spend a weekend or longer so why not telecommute, because there will be fiber.
We have filed the building permit and we are awaiting the response, ”explains Romain.
A one-year exclusivity for Airbnb
Since the result, a project manager and craftsmen have been contacted for a project which, according to the latest estimates, costs around 200,000 euros: “We will finance the balance with a loan.
The $100,000 will be paid in three instalments.
At the start of the work after providing the official documents, mid-term and on delivery.
We now go there every weekend to prepare the ground.
Then the professionals will step in.
They say the time allotted is short but playable in the face of weather and delivery times for materials.
The slide will be made in the factory, ”specifies the couple.
Upon delivery, Airbnb has a one-year exclusivity for rentals.